Recent statements by Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf seem to signal a shift in Kashmir territorial claims. But some believe the president’s comments simply amount to a maneuver aimed at calming domestic and international criticism.

Howard B. Schaffer, a former top State Department official on South Asia, says Washington should seek to prevent tensions in Kashmir from complicating U.S. security interests in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

This International Crisis Group briefing reports on the Kashmir conflict and identifies the key political, social, and economic needs of Kashmiris that need to be addressed on both sides of the divided state.

According to this September 2006 report from Human Rights Watch, the Indian government’s failure to end widespread impunity for human rights abuses committed both by its security forces and militants is fueling the cycle of violence inJammu and Kashmir. The report documents recent abuses by the Indian army and paramilitaries, as well as by militants, many of whom are backed by Pakistan. Human Rights Watch alleges that Indian security forces have committed torture, “disappearances” and arbitrary detentions, and that they continue to execute Kashmiris in faked “encounter killings,” claiming that these killings take place during armed clashes with militants. Meanwhile militants have carried out bombings and grenade attacks against civilians, targeted killings, torture and attacks upon religious and ethnic minorities.